Our CEO

LESLEY STILES SCEARCE

Lesley Stiles Scearce was appointed President and CEO of United Way of Greater Chattanooga in August, 2015.

Since joining United Way, Ms. Scearce has served as an initiative leader with Chattanooga 2.0, a collective effort to make Chattanooga the “smartest city in the South.”

She has worked to partner United Way with new community collaborators who bring innovation and risk-taking to solving nonprofit issues – a recognized United Way hallmark. She helped launch the new city-wide #CHAgives fundraiser; she shepherded the use of advanced technology and social media at the nonprofit; and she successfully completed her first community campaign and is finalizing her second.

Before joining United Way, she headed On Point: Direction for Life as its President and CEO. Ms. Scearce led the organization to reach 240,000 local youth with the skills and support necessary to avoid risky behavior and be prepared for life.

Ms. Scearce was an adjunct professor of nonprofit management at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga. She led ASCEND, in Washington DC, as Board Chair. She still leads community-wide training sessions for parents, schools, businesses and community organizations in the 40 Developmental Assets®, the building blocks youth need to flourish.

Ms. Scearce is grateful for investments made in her as a young adult, so she is passionate about launching kids towards an atypical life and transforming the way adults view and engage with youth. That’s why joining United Way – with its support of local teens through Education and Stability (after school programming, mentoring, and volunteering) – is the perfect professional evolution for her.

When she isn’t wrangling two young boys or watching games at the ball field, you’ll probably find her on her front porch with her husband Daniel and their friends. She loves fly fishing and folk music. She is an active member of Calvary Chapel and lives in Chattanooga, TN.